God Brings His Children Together

God brings His children together to encourage and build one another up--in His perfect way!

In my former church I served with an inspirational group of ladies on our Women's Minsitry team. It was the morning of an amazing event combining many women from various churches in our area. Much preparation had been done; much prayer had gone to the Father. That morning I had been praying at home that God would use not only the event, but he would use each of the team members in a specific way. God impressed upon my heart that he had someone for me to minister to and that I would know immediately when I met her. With that, I curiously went to the church.

There were many details to finish as I arrived. Our featured singer, Angie, arrived bringing with her her sister, Charlotte. I darted over to them to introduce myself and make them feel welcome. As I shook hands with Charlotte I immediately knew she was the one. But how and why? What was God doing?

Well, the women began to pour into the foyer. There was excitement filling the room as women began conversing. The event had begun. Everything was in place. I began to look at all the ladies, but realized that Charlotte was nowhere to be found. I wondered where she had gone. Then I thought, if I were with my talented sister (who gives concerts often) and knew no one, where would I be? Answer: In the car!! As I looked outside, I was right! It was now that I must respond to God's earlier prompting.

I tapped on the car window motioning to come in. She unlocked the doors. We began small talk and then I asked her if she was ok. She began to explain that she had recently lost a baby
due to a virus she had when she was pregnant-- CMV (Cytomegalovirus). My heart flipped and huge lump rose in my throat. I had CMV when I was pregnant with my son. But he lived. We shed tears together as I shared with her our common bond. My heart broke as we prayed together--praying that the Lord would bring healing to her heart. She didn't know if she wanted to risk going through it again.

The Lord of the Most High intimately brought two women together who had shared sickness, fear, and confusion--one was given a child, the other a child was taken. As the day ended I had so much emotion. I felt devastatingly sorry for her, guilty for me, yet, blessed because I had my little boy. The Lord seemed to remind me that I will never completely understand His ways. It was not for me to understand, but it was a time he had ordained to bring His encouragement to two of His children. Charlotte needed to be cared for and prayed for; I needed to know that what I went through could be used for God's glory helping someone else (and to never forget the miraculous healing of my son).

Almost a year later, I received a card from Charlotte. She was at home with her new baby! The Lord had blessed her with a child. As my heart pounded with joy and the tears rolled down my face I praised God for being Who He Is!! The most amazing, loving God! From that encounter, I learned that God truly arranges our circumstances. I simply must be sensitive to what He is doing and saying. Isn't He GREAT!

-------------------------------------------------------------------
I was in my last trimester when I became ill. I was admitted to the hospital and told of the potential severity of cmv to my baby. My husband and I were given an appointment with a specialist. He was very straight-forward in telling us that babies with this (in the last trimester) can have severe complications for life (deafness, blindness, nervous system problems, etc.) or death. As I told him our desire to do anything to help our newborn, he told me there was nothing anyone could do; the damage was done. Not accepting this, I went on to tell him all the things we would be willing to do to help our son. Finally the doctor said, " Mam, if your baby is going to die, he is going to die. There is honestly nothing I can do." You can imagine what that did to a mother's heart! But it was at this point that I gave God control over the situation. Bo and I would simply and desperately pray for God's will concerning our unborn child.
Cody was born in late October....a perfectly healthy baby! The Lord had his healing hand on Cody. I know He has great plans for him!

Fixity of Heart

The other day I was reading a devotional by Elisabeth Elliot. A phrase caught my attention: “Fixity of heart.” She said it has always been a rare thing in history. Fixity of heart is to “stay quietly by the Shepherd.” When life is difficult and confusing, the world offers so many (temporary) solutions. We are attracted to quick fixes and anything that will make us feel better in the moment. How many of us have eaten the entire pan of brownies? Gone on a spontaneous shopping spree? Hid in a movie theater for a double feature? None of these are wrong (OK, maybe the brownies!) in and of themselves but they only postpone the efforts for a real solution.

I would say that I have known “where” to go when I have problems or uncertainties. “Do” I go is the real question! Why do we avoid going to the One who has the answers? Maybe we don't want to listen to the answer....it may not be fast enough! There have been times I have sought the Lord's help and wisdom and He has always given me an answer. Patience is involved in finding or waiting for the answer. Recently, I ask the Lord for a job. I simply prayed that God would show me the right place to work and that it would be apparent it was His doing. I investigated several places, turned in resumes and talked with personnel. I was even told, “You are on the top of the pile, if we hire.” Needless to say, none of them hired me. At a point of confusion, I asked the Lord, “What do I do now? I am a professional and you have gifted me in this area. Do you not want to use me?” I didn't want to accept what came next.

The Lord seemed to answer that He had arranged my circumstances the way He wanted. He wanted me at home which would mean that I homeschool three teenagers. Well he answered my prayer—He showed me where I was to work and it was apparent that He was one doing it! It was not my idea, but it was His plan. I have been out of the Lord's will before and I never want to go back to that place. I didn't understand it but I accepted my new assignment.

Being home has been a joy, a treasure. My teenagers come to me with questions about school, situations with friends, and share with me the things God is teaching them. What more could I desire in the world? In the Lord's plan, He has given me more time with Him. I am able to study scripture, write out unsearchable truths, and read from those who spent their lives following Christ. Thank you Lord for YOUR plan!

Oh how I long for fixity of my heart! There are so many steps in our journey and we need help with each one of them. Each step is a chance for obedience, which Jesus says is love for him. Let's set our hearts on seeking Him, waiting for his answer, and responding YES to whatever he says.

Colossians 3:2-4

1 Peter 1:6-7

John 14:15, 21, 23

Doing It Myself

Don't you love dishwashers! I do. Our family spent several years in seminary where we had to wash our dishes by hand. Because of that time, I love my dishwasher.

One day I noticed that my trusty friend was not washing as well as it should. Being the woman of all trades that I am (ha!) I chose to save money and fix it myself. How hard could it be? I took out the trays, but found that I could not access the jets. The door was simply in my way; I needed to take it off. Pulled up and out----ooops! Well it didn't come off but could not be closed. My husband came home to trays on the floor, the dishwasher door frozen in position, and dirty dishes awaiting their anticipated cycle. "What have you done?" exclaimed my husband. Knowing my financial guru, I said, "saving you some money!" He simply shook his head and said, "Please call someone," and walked out of the room.
The next day Tim, the repairman visited and I explained the situation. Tim's word of advice to me was, "Mam, please don't ever try this again!"

Needless to say, I have given up trying to fix major appliances in our home. I had confidence in my own abilities and had pure motives, but I actually made things worse. I think we can apply this to our spiritual life. Many times we set out with good, human ideas and plans but have not consulted our Master. God has a plan for each of us, with specific assignments. We tend to think our ideas are reasonable and will get the job done. But do our ideas bring eternal results? or simply temporary successes?

In John 15:5, Jesus says, "If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." Jesus was speaking literal truth. God sees from all eternity--past, present, and future. He knows all situations that will rise up in our lives and how we will respond. Will we seek him or "fix" the situation ourselves? What are the results when we do things in our own thinking and in our own strength? God is beckoning us to depend on Him, to come to Him for understanding and guidance.

In my own life I see this to be more true than it has ever been. Looking back over some of my past, I see that I made decisions on what I thought was best. Those decisions led me to heartache, sadness, and confusion. The opposite was true in times when I sought God's counsel. He made things happen that I could not have figured into the equation. That is what I find amazing about God. When he allows me to be in a situation that I don't understand He makes a way if I am seeking Him, and will patiently wait. My decisions affect my family and others so I must seek my Lord to gain His perspective for His glory to be seen by many.